Integrated Rocket Force: News & Discussion

[Manish_P]

Irrespective of the journos spinning this (and they obviously are!), the retired Air Marshal did question the usefulness of drones and missiles in relation to manned fighter aircraft...

Admiral sir I felt that the Retd AM was addressing the cost vs numbers vs payload capacity equation put forth by the civilian. Yes he was biased towards his own steed (fighters) but not downright as hostile to others as it is made out to be on social.

That way I am downright prejudiced against journos.

Yes he did compare the western air warfare philosophy vs the eastern rocket warfare philosophy... to which I would say now what with the commands demarcated let's have the AF fighter style warfare on the western front and the Army have their rocket warfare style on the eastern front. Both happy

But please, please give both fighters (subs with torpedoes) and rockets (subs with missiles) to the Navy.

Am nursing a viral fever these past two days that's fogged up my brain... I wonder if I am making any sense whatsoever. I have a feeling that come next week it's going to be pretty embarrassing looking at my own posts

[SRajesh]

Rakesh
Is this a warning short fired across the bow??
Theatre Commands may be pushed through.
And more importantly CDS could go the the largest branch of the services and may stay that way for forseable time!!
AHQ probably worried and want 114 as a sweetner for the deal to go through!!

[Rakesh]

Admiral sir I felt that the Retd AM was addressing the cost vs numbers vs payload capacity equation put forth by the civilian. Yes he was biased towards his own steed (fighters) but not downright as hostile to others as it is made out to be on social.

That way I am downright prejudiced against journos.

Yes he did compare the western air warfare philosophy vs the eastern rocket warfare philosophy... to which I would say now what with the commands demarcated let's have the AF fighter style warfare on the western front and the Army have their rocket warfare style on the eastern front. Both happy

But please, please give both fighters (subs with torpedoes) and rockets (subs with missiles) to the Navy.

Let me just state at the outset that Air Marshal Tiwari spoke very eloquently and made his point, with clarity and precision.

The issue is with the substance of his argument. I suspect the argument is being borne out because the 114 Rafale deal has yet to be signed. The very platform that Air HQ is so eager to get its hands on, has a UCAV complement (nEUROn) that is expected to come on board with the F5 variant. The OEM of the Rafale is itself pitching a UCAV partner of the Rafale and Air HQ is still stuck in the fighter jock era.

Payload Capacity is a valid point, however that is what is available NOW. The future will have more advanced AI-driven drones, with VLO shaping, reduced IR signature and a platform that can carry a more varied payload. If Air HQ is still focusing on manned fighters - as a key component of air power - for the future, it will be counterproductive. And this is not just about Rafale, but even our home grown programs i.e. Tejas variants + AMCA.

Taking manned fighters into heavily defended, enemy airspace is a recipe for disaster. A F-35 got severely damaged over the skies of Iran. And that is the cutting edge of VLO 5th generation aircraft. It will be a slaughter for fourth generation aircraft. First sanitize the airspace via SEAD/DEAD and then you can dominate the skies. For that you need to probe, analyse and destroy enemy air defences aka OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide & Act). A large drone fleet (aka Ghatak, HAL CATS, etc) + an Integrated Rocket Force are crucial to that goal.

[Rakesh]

Rakesh
Is this a warning short fired across the bow??
Theatre Commands may be pushed through.
And more importantly CDS could go the the largest branch of the services and may stay that way for forseable time!!
AHQ probably worried and want 114 as a sweetner for the deal to go through!!

Air HQ has voiced significant opposition to the theaterization concept. Those concerns are being addressed, so that the IAF's fears can be assauged. But theaterization will happen and Air HQ will jump on board.

Rule in Life ---> If you don't adapt to changing circumstances in life, you will be left behind.

[Prem Kumar]

Once Rafale deal is signed, the camel now has 3 feet in the tent. The French will pitch their UCAV & say that the Rafale is compatible with *only their UCAV* and nothing else. They will refuse to share codes for inter-operability - screw whatever they signed as part of the deal (or the IAF will conveniently forget to include code-sharing of UCAV during contract signature)

We will pay more Billions to buy and integrate neuron or moron or whatever snake-oil Dassault sells us

This will also impact Ghatak orders because it wont be compatible with the Rafale fleet

[srin]

I don't understand at all the need for a dedicated rocket force. To me, all non-nuclear surface-to-surface weapons, of any range, are part of artillery. And these must be part of the respective theater commands.

[Rakesh]

I don't understand at all the need for a dedicated rocket force. To me, all non-nuclear surface-to-surface weapons, of any range, are part of artillery. And these must be part of the respective theater commands.

https://x.com/palepurshankar/status/204 ... 68520?s=20 ---> 8 Artillery Major Generals in NCC (National Cadet Corps) out of 17. Is NCC the new 'Artillery'? The God of War is being shown his resting place! "Ultima ratio regum" in the NCC. Hmm.

https://x.com/kakar_harsha/status/20425 ... 65738?s=20 ---> The Army Chief talks about raising Missile and Rocket regiments. At the same time, artillery generals, who should have been at the forefront of this initiative are sidelined to NCC. Big mismatch between intent and action. @adgpi